Care and Adoration (Love me Deep)
by sidereusluna
Summary: In which Ace gets whiny when he's tired but Marco & Sabo don't mind how childish he acts.


**"** **You're so cute when you're tired, you know." Fluff! Sleepy sabo or ace getting carried by marco?** requested by anon

this is a fuckin fluff req I fuckin love it lmao

 **warnings/tags:** implication of sexual content, motherfuckin' cuddlin

 **ship** : mar/ace/bo

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"You shouldn't be this strong," Ace mumbled, curled close to Marco's chest, and felt Marco's soft laughter rumble in his chest. "What!" Ace defended, whining slightly as he cracked his eye open, and Marco carefully resettled his grip around the back of Ace's knees. "You're like- a stick!"

"An attractive stick," Sabo pointed out from his side, and Ace huffed, settling back into Marco's hold and crossing his arms.

"I'm dating sticks," Ace said to himself almost mournfully, and Sabo laughed, carefully stepping out of the way so that Marco could get himself and Ace through the cabin door first.

"You're so cute when you're tired, you know." He said, hands running along the sole of Ace's bare foot, and Ace squirmed, whining and kicking his leg out at Sabo.

"I am not! Shut up, and stop tickling me!"

"Sabo-" Marco said warningly, trying to keep Ace balanced and the towel wrapped around him still on, and Sabo quickly danced out of the way, pushing open the door to the communal showers. It was late, thankfully, but sometimes people came in from the night shift hoping to warm up, so Sabo stuck up his hastily scrawled "BUSY!" sign, knowing that the burn marks at the bottom would give away who it belonged too.

Ace made a sulky whine when Marco put him down, almost tipping off the bench, and Sabo quickly moved behind him, letting Ace lean on his chest.

"I wanna sleep, 'bo," he mumbled, nuzzling into Sabo's collarbone, and Sabo pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

"You need to get cleaned up first," he said, and Ace's whine grew louder.

"Tommorrowwwww," he said, and Sabo had to stifle his laughter when Marco snorted derisively.

"Tomorrow you're gonna complain about waking up dirty and be mad at us," Marco said, turning on two of the showers and adjusting the shower heads so that they intercrossed and made a shower that would fit the three of them. "We learnt our lesson from last time. And the time before that. And the time before that. You're a sulk." Steam started to rise from the shower, and Marco held out his arm, beckoning with his fingers. "Come on, up you get yoi."

"I dun wanna," Ace said, crossing his arms over his chest, and Sabo stood up, nudging Ace from the bench and into Marco's arms. Ace cast him a betrayed look, lips into a pout, but when hot water hit his bare shoulders he gave a small groan and his eyes fluttered closed. He swayed, and Marco quickly steadied him, letting Ace lean against his chest. Tiny water droplets from the spray caught against his hair and sparkled on his lip, and Sabo stole a quick kiss that had Ace cracking open an eye to look at him. Then, he poked his tongue out, and Sabo laughed.

"Too cute when you're tired," he teased, and caught Marco's lips twitching into a smile when Ace frowned grumpily into the water.

Marco beckoned for the wash cloth and soap he'd bought, and Sabo left the hot shower with only minimal pouting, quick to jump back in and hand Marco the cloth. He hooked his chin over Ace's shoulder, his thumbs moving in easy circles on Ace's side, gentle over purple and red teeth marks, and watched as Marco wet the cloth and began running it over Ace's shoulders.

Ace went weak in the knees, moaning tiredly at the pressure in his stiff muscles, and Sabo let him fall forwards, watching as Marco gave a soft laugh. "Too cute," he mouthed at Marco, and watched as Marco grinned widely, his fingertips digging into a particularly tough knot that made Ace groan. A blissed grin stretched across the junction of Sabo's neck, teeth pressed against his skin, and Sabo reached up to run his hand through Ace's hair, wiping sweat off the back of his neck.

In another few minutes Marco was done, but he let his hands linger, pressing soft kisses against the top of Ace's spine. Sabo, knowing how long Marco would stand there and already feeling Ace falling asleep on him, rolled his eyes and stretched his hand out, nudging off the tap. "C'mon," he said, when Ace looked at him with betrayal and Marco did much the same, "we're not staying here forever, we'll all turn into weird wrinkles. Or I'll melt, you guys seem to forget that 'boiling' is not a temperature people can stand comfortably for long periods of time."

"I like it," Ace said sulkily, and Sabo had to hold back an amused snigger, shaking his head and herding both Marco and Ace to the bench, letting Marco pull Ace into his lap and press kisses to his cheek.

"Ace, you're made of fire. I'd be surprised if you can feel anything."

"Ice cubes?" Marco suggested curiously, and Sabo pushed his palm against his forehead, grinning ruefully when Ace answered in all seriousness,

"I'd melt them. Ice is cold."

Sabo shook his head, biting back his grin, and grabbed the stack of towels he'd carried in, handing one to Marco and then wrapping the other around Ace's head, rubbing at his head and making Ace yelp and swat him. He grinned, and relaxed the noogie before Ace decided to set the towel on fire, instead massaging Ace's head before letting the towel slip down and drying off Ace's shoulders.

Ace gave a soft pleased hum, especially as Marco began working up from his feet, thumbs digging into his calves and stretching out his cramped legs. "Tha's nice," he said, and Marco had to stifle his own smile.

"Good," he said, before wrapping his towel around Ace's middle and letting Ace grab the edge like a blanket. "Ready?"

Ace nodded, pressing his cheek against Marco's chest again, and he gave a wide, tired yawn, his eyes blinking heavily. "Mmm, sleep now?"

"Yeah, sleep now." Sabo said, grabbing the rest of their stuff and then pushing open the door so that they could go back to Marco's cabin. Marco stood carefully, trying to be careful not to jostle Ace, who'd decided to curl up in his arms. He leaned down and kissed Sabo's forehead in thanks as he passed by, and Sabo grinned at him, hitting his ass when he walked past and making him yelp, almost jumping. Marco gave him an unimpressed look but Sabo only laughed, grabbing his sign and following them down the corridor.

He pressed his shoulder against Marco's, matching their gaits together so that they bumped carefully into each other, and in no time at all they were at Marco's cabin and Marco was laying Ace down on their bed, letting Ace curl up in the blankets, still cuddling the towel.

"I love you guys…," Ace said softly, his words dissolving into a yawn, and was asleep before Marco and Sabo could finish returning the favour.

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 **review ✌**


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